NAGPUR: The cash-strapped Nagpur Municipal Corporation moved one step ahead as far as its dream of getting central funds under Smart City project is concerned. A 10-member team of experts from Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) visited the Orange City on Thursday to assess the civic body's preliminary preparedness for the Smart City competition.

The FICCI team is led by Mousumi Roy, senior director and head, real estate, urban infrastructure FICCI, and comprises members representing KPIT, Pune, TransDev India Pvt Ltd, Reliance Jio, EWC, ESRI (India), NIT (GIS Wing), L&T, Essel Infra and Veolia (India). The team will help the civic body to plan for raising revenues for the Smart City.

Municipal commissioner Shravan Hardikar said that Ficci will be extending its service on 'pro bono' basis as it has formed a consortium of experts from different industries to develop Smart City.

In his PowerPoint presentation to the team, Hardikar said there is a greater possibility of transforming Nagpur into Smart City but entrepreneurs should study and select long-term investment sectors and propose projects that are realistic. A proposal to invest at least Rs5,000 crore can take the city to a greater height in next five to seven years. FICCI will give its feedback on how it can help the NMC to develop Nagpur as smart city," he said.

The demand from both end user and investors precisely in the mid-range segment kept the overall Pune residential market positive during the quarter ended June, showed a report by property consultancy Colliers International.

NAVI MUMBAI: Three land tender plots of Cidco in prime locality of Ghansoli, sector 8, were on Thursday sold to the highest bidders for rates as high as Rs 1.61 lakh per sq metre, fetching the state agency a total revenue of Rs 221 crore through these sales.

NEW DELHI: The real estate market in the country's top eight cities recorded a 320% year-on-year jump in affordable home launches in the quarter to June, according to a report by property advisory Cushman & Wakefield, indicating a shift in strategy by builders to beat the slump.

NEW DELHI: The Sahara group's inability to raise Rs 10,000 crore, half in cash and half through bank guarantee, to seek release of its chief Subrata Roy and two directors from jail made the Supreme Court on Monday think aloud about the possibility of appointing a receiver for the group.